Apps

Popular PlayStation RPG Dragon Quest VIII now available for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2014

Another day, another role-playing game (RPG) makes its way into Apple's App Store. If Mika Mobile's action-based RPG Battleheart Legacy did not impress you and you've been craving for a Japanese-styled RPG game, consider giving the eighth installment in the legendary Dragon Quest series a shot. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, Dragon Quest VIII has since sold an astounding 4.9 million units worldwide.

And now, for the first time ever it's available on the iOS platform. The first title in the series to offer full 3D graphics, the iOS port of Dragon Quest VIII sports vast landscape filled with non-playable characters who wonder around big cities.

There are dungeons with hidden treasure, typical turn-based 3D battles, unique monsters, wizards, dragons, epic boss fights and more - in all, everything you'd expect from an RPG made in Japan.

Note that Dragon Quest VIII comes at a rather steep price of $19.99 for the universal iPhone and iPad app, but at least it won't ask for cash - there are no In-App Purchases whatsoever...

Sunrise Calendar is now available everywhere, including on Android and the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Sunrise Calendar, a free iOS calendar alternative, on Thursday rolled out to Android smartphones, now available free of charge in Google's Play Store. In addition, the software has been released on desktop, too, in the form of a web app available in the Chrome Web Store.

And ff you prefer Apple's Safari over Google's Chrome browser, Sunrise Calendar can now be enjoyed as a regular web app, too, though you'll lose Chrome-specific functionality such as the offline mode. With that in mind, the app is now available pretty much everywhere: across the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and on the web...

Infinity Blade II goes free as App Store’s latest Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade III is still on sale following the massive 'Blade Masters' update and now its predecessor, Infinity Blade II, has been slashed to zero bucks, courtesy of Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion (last week's free app: Fun Golf GPS 3D).

This means that you can download this elegiac masterpiece free of charge until next Thursday, after which it will go back up to its normal asking price of seven bucks.

It's a universal app so you can play it on both your iPhone and iPad. Again, this game is downright awesome so you'll most certainly regret passing on this deal if you don't act pronto. The triple-A iOS exclusive has been built on Epic Games' Unreal engine and is the closest thing to a system-seller on Apple's platform.

Go grab Infinity Blade II in the App Store now!

Readdle updates PDF Expert 5, now a universal app

Lory Gil ∙ May 29, 2014

Readdle has just launched an update to its popular PDF management app, PDF Expert 5 that includes support for iPhone and iPad in one. Now, you can read, edit, and share your PDF files on any device with one convenient app.

Version 5.1 also includes updates specifically designed for the smaller screen. Freehand draw, add figures and manage pages all on your iPhone. All this, and the update is free if you are already using PDF Expert 5 for the iPad…

Popular RSS client Reeder 2 now available in the Mac App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

After extensive beta testing, popular RSS client Reeder 2 has landed in the Mac App Store. This is the app's first update on the Mac since Google shutdown its Google Reader service last year, which essentially broke most RSS clients.

As with the iOS version, Reeder 2 for Mac adds support for a number of RSS services that have tried to fill the gap left by Google, such as Feedbin and Feedly. And it also now serves as a standalone RSS client, so no syncing is required...

Pocket adds new features, introduces Premium tier

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Pocket (formerly Read It Later), is a popular read-later service that lets you save content you don't have the time to read right now. You can then enjoy saved items later on all your mobile/desktop devices and in the web UI.

Saved stories are stripped of all unnecessary graphics, ads and other bells and whistles that clutter online articles. Folks who research a lot like bloggers tend to use read-later services as their central repository of URLs.

For example, I use Pocket to keep stories containing snippets of information that I may or may not use in my future writing. There's just one tiny problem: a saved URL is no good if an article gets deleted on the web. Enter Pocket Premium, your new subscription Pocket library that keeps a permanent copy of anything you save to it...

App Store’s Top Charts now shows fewer apps for performance reasons

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 28, 2014

TechCrunch has spotted an interesting change under the popular Top Charts section in the App Store. The popular section now displays only half as much ranked apps as before.

Whereas previously you were able to scroll through the top 300 apps listed across Paid, Free and Top Grossing categories on the iPhone (or Top 1,500 on the iPad), Top Charts now shows only 150 results.

It's a small but interesting change that shows Apple is still figuring out how to best surface noteworthy and trending apps among the more than million items it now carries in the App Store....

Beats Music drops annual subscription fee to $99, free trial extended to 14 days for everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

Hot on the heels of officially announcing the major $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics LCC., and ahead of its SVP Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi's joint appearance at the Code Conference tonight, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre's four months old music service has just sweetened the deal.

The startup has dropped the price of Beats Music yearly subscription free to $99.99, down from $119.88.

Additionally, the previous 7-day free trial of Beats Music has now been extended in a “no strings attached” move to fourteen days to all users...

Darkrume review: a beautiful Flickr client for the iPad

Lory Gil ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Flickr is one of those great social photography websites that got lost in the shuffle when Instagram hit the mobile world. While the service has done a lot to stay relevant, it still lags behind when it comes to sharing photos with friends.

Darkrume is a high-quality Flickr client for the iPad that may just rekindle your love of the photo storage online service. With an immersive interface and 64-bit performance, your Flickr pics have never looked so good. Read on for our Darkrume review…

Chrome iOS update brings improved handling of search queries and other treats

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 28, 2014

Google has issued a brand new Chrome iOS browser version, bringing out several nice-to-haves and refinements to its popular Safari alternative for the iPhone and iPad.

In addition to the usual stability improvements and bug fixes, the new Chrome build 35.0.1916.38, available free in the App Store, improves upon its handling of right-to-left input method for Arabic and Hebrew in Omnibox, which in Google's parlance stands for the browses combined search and address box.

More importantly, the app will now display your exact search term in Omnibox instead of the long search query URL, just like Apple’s Safari. And upon landing on Google's redesigned mobile search results page, the browser now makes it easy to refine your search queries and view more results...

iTunes 11.2.2 update arrives with podcast bug fix and stability improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 28, 2014

Apple has just released a new version of iTunes. This is a third update to the company's desktop jukebox application in less than two weeks.

iTunes 11.2.2 is now available through your Mac's Software Update, offering several stability improvements and fixing a bug related to the software's handling of podcasts.

The update is recommended for all iTunes users and should be now available for Mac and Windows via the Mac App Store's Updates tab or as a standalone download via Apple's website...

Quickminder: create reminders with no fuss, no muss

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 1, 2018

Reminder apps are fast becoming the new Twitter app in that it seems everyone is having a go at making one, and the App Store is full to the brim with both some great alternatives to the stock iOS solution. Unfortunately, it's also littered with some downright poor ones.

A reminder app is a very personal choice, too. Some people will love one app while others will declare another to be the one and only app to use for making sure you don't forget things. While we're fans of the likes of Omnifocus and Things, it's safe to say that both apps can sometimes be overkill for many, and downright madness for others.

Which means that reminder apps can still thrive in an area dominated by the two aforementioned apps along with a handful of smaller solutions. One of our new favorites, quickminder, has found a niche for itself thanks to its blazing speed and luscious looks. And yes, that's their lack of capitalization, not ours.